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MEDAC unveils RM372.85 mln Post COVID-19 Entrepreneur Recovery Plan

Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar

KUALA LUMPUR, May 2 -- The Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Ministry (MEDAC) has allocated RM372.845 million for the Post COVID-19 Entrepreneur Recovery Plan aimed at ensuring the sustainability and recovery of entrepreneurs’ business operations affected by the pandemic.

He said that based on available information, Malaysia had nearly 907,000 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and they must brace themselves for a different business scenario, especially following the end of the Movement Control Order (MCO) period.

“Each entrepreneur must move towards digitalising their business, seize training opportunities and offers announced by the relevant agencies, particularly under MEDAC, and seek new revenue sources for business continuity,” he said in a statement today.

Wan Junaidi said under the recovery plan, six strategies comprising 30 initiatives had been drafted for various identified target groups.

These strategies include raising the people’s confidence (targeted at entrepreneurs and the public), strengthening capabilities and capacities (aimed at micro enterprises, cooperatives, and startups by graduates and youths), boosting financing access and assistance (for MSMEs, informal sector and cooperatives), and increasing usage of technology (for MSMEs and cooperatives).

Other strategies are market opening and expansion, and effective service delivery (both targeted at MSMEs, informal sector and startups).

In an effort to assist entrepreneurs at this time, MEDAC agencies have also implemented or are implementing various measures during the MCO period, including RM786.5 million financing provided by Bank Rakyat, SME Bank, TEKUN Nasional and the Cooperative Commission of Malaysia which is expected to benefit 4,133 recipients including individuals, entrepreneurs and cooperatives.

Global energy investment expected to fall by record 20 percent in 2020 due to COVID-19 – IEA

MOSCOW, May 27 -- The world’s investment in the energy sector is projected to plummet by a record-high 20 percent year-on-year in 2020 as a consequence of the energy crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, Sputnik news agency quoted the International Energy Agency (IEA) as saying on Wednesday.